Most Americans still do not understand electric utilities, and many consumers have only a vague grasp of the intricacies of regulation and deregulation. This is a paradox of sorts; regulation, in particular, seems easy enough to grasp. The real difficulty lies in understanding how power companies have manipulated the regulators.

If you think utility deregulation has done away with electric utility monopolies, think again Deregulation is a myth-it's business as usual for the power companies.

For most of America, utility deregulation has yet to become a reality. Even if it does, electric...